I am going to miss Jerry's effortless pomposity about showbiz when he's gone; he may be the best ever at it. "I don't allow people in my family to use the term 'TV'" vs there's nothing good on. Real Sammy Maudlin stuff!

The centerpiece of the new issue of the multi-lingual film journal La Furia Umana is a walloping dossier on Jerry Lewis. Of the 24 pieces on Lewis, ten are in English: B Kite on the Little Clown in The Errand Boy (1961), Zach Campbell on Lewis's relation to his own image on screen, Murray Pomerance on that face, Peter Nellhaus on the extension of Lewis's auteurship into the films he didn't direct, David Phelps on Lewis's "Janus-faced comedy," R Emmet Sweeney on the September 18, 1955 broadcast of the Colgate Comedy Hour, Sudarshan Ramani on Scorsese's The King of Comedy (1982), John J Kern on The Day the Clown Cried (1972), Steven Shaviro on Smorgasbord (aka Cracking Up, 1983) — and Gina Telaroli's remarkable, extra-textual piece on Hardly Working (1979).

Can you make an Alaskan Polar Bear Heater in Tennessee? A musical version of “The Nutty Professor,” the Jerry Lewis comedy that introduced that stiff alcoholic concoction – along with the Jekyll-and-Hyde-like characters of Julius Kelp and Buddy Love – will have its world premiere in Nashville before a planned Broadway run later this year, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center said on Wednesday.

The “Nutty Professor” musical will be performed at the center’s James K. Polk Theater from July 24 through August 19, the organization said. The production, which is adapted from Mr. Lewis’s hit 1963 film of the same title, is to star Michael Andrew as Kelp, and will feature music by Marvin Hamlisch (“A Chorus Line”) and a book and lyrics by Rupert Holmes (“Curtains,” “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”). Mr. Lewis – who didn’t need a fat suit to play his “Nutty Professor,” thank you very much – is directing.

With his trademark humility, Mr. Lewis said in a statement: “This musical will be spectacular for a couple of reasons. One, I’m directing it. Two, I have Michael Andrew, who is one of the best talents to come down the pike in 50 years. And I’m surrounding him with one-of-a-kind creative people, like Marvin Hamlisch, Rupert Holmes and me.” He added: “After it’s over, give me a call and let me know if everything I said was spot on.”

I only caught the last half and admittedly was fascinated by the nutso casting. Gallo is pretty funny. The final scene with Depp and Lewis as icefishing eskimos (speaking Inuit?) and then the fish up and flies away.... o_0